Is it time to cut the banana stalk of my banana tree ? Pics insid

firstinlastoutAugust 19, 2010

I bought a banana tree off Ebay about a year ago advertised as a "chiquita banana tree". It has been growing very rapidly here in South Florida as you can imagine. A few months ago the banana's started growing. I also have 3 baby plants growing around the mother plant...they are all about 3-4 feet tall. Anyhow, I was waiting to see if the bananas would get bigger...but seems they may have sent me the dwarf mini bananas, which I am upset about since I wanted regular bananas. Anyhow, when is the best time to cut the stalk off the banana fruit and let it ripen inside my house ? Reason I am asking is the fruit now has little black speckles all over and some of the bananas have split in half. One of the bananas has also became completely black at the end, sort of rotten (another pic). Is it time to cut the fruit stalk off ? I was waiting because I really thought the seller had given me true normal sized chiquita bananas you see in stores everywhere. Any insight/help is greatly appreciated !

Hi Norm,
I can't get your links to work...?? If your using photobucket, check pix you want to post and then hit"Generate HTML CODE" at bottom of page. Copy and paste first code in this box. When you preview the clickable thumbnails will show up in your post. Hope this helps.

Hi Norm
I think your bananas might be Manzanos very tasty with an apple like flavor. They are ready to be cut and hung inside to ripen. Let them get very ripe for best flavor. All mine froze to the ground last winter and I should have fruit next year